Two protesters arrested in Boston

BOSTON — After three quiet days of peaceful demonstrations, state police donned riot gear and used force to arrest protesters who disrupted a rally for peace yesterday.

Police arrested two protesters for burning an American flag, as well as effigies of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. Authorities formed a human barrier between protesters and the perimeter fence surrounding the FleetCenter.

The strong police presence overshadowed what was intended to be a peaceful anti-war rally sponsored by the United for Peace and Justice (UPJ), a large network of social-justice groups. Members of UPJ were protesting the American presence in Iraq and the suppression of dissent at the convention and other high-profile events, said Bill Dobbs, spokesman for the organization.

The rally was held outside the designated protest area, which is being referred to as “The Cage.” Three protesters attempted to cut into the fence but were stopped when the police pushed the protesters back about 50 feet from the perimeter.

The Boston police have said that the protest area gives protesters access to the convention and the delegates while keeping the delegates and demonstrators out of harm’s way.

“I don’t know how you have access through netting and razor wire,” Mr. Dobbs said.

A man identifying himself as Vermin Love Supreme led a protest against the police. Mr. Supreme attempted to secure a place for himself on the presidential ballot in several states, running under the Misinformed Citizens of America Party.

Mr. Supreme and his supporters originally intended to demonstrate against what they say is the corporate ownership of America. Most of his message was centered on characterizing the country as the “police state of America.”

Numerous protesters were wearing bandannas soaked in lemon juice across their face to guard against potential police use of tear gas and to protect their image from police records, said a young woman who identified herself only as June, an anarchist protesting the government.

This relative upsurge in protest activity comes after three largely uneventful days at the Democratic National Convention. Indeed, the designated protest zone was nearly empty throughout the week. At times, curious onlookers and reporters outnumbered protesters.

Some opted out of demonstrating at the convention this week, instead waiting for the Republican convention in New York next month.

“And also, there isn’t a whole lot of money to go around, so we have to pick and choose where we go,” said Adam Eidinger, co-chairman of the DC Statehood Green Party.

The group tried to get a bus of protesters to head to Boston but had to cancel the trip when it could not find the needed 50 persons to make it financially feasible.

“There’s some holding back for New York,” Mr. Eidinger said. “And there are really no major left-leaning groups organizing large protests in Boston.”

Boston police had reported only one convention-related arrest through Wednesday, and that was of a drunken partygoer rather than a rhetoric-breathing, bandanna-masked protester.

Mr. Dobbs was convinced that the protest enclosure in Boston has been a deterrent to demonstrators.

“I’m sure it has,” Mr. Dobbs said. “It feels like a trap.”

Next month, he said, there will be more-focused protests and better organization.

“New York will be a whole different ballgame,” he said.

Still We Rise, a New York-based coalition, plans a march in New York on Aug. 30 from Union Square to Madison Square Garden, where the Republicans will gather from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. In Boston, though, the group chartered a bus full of the homeless, the indigent and the afflicted for a smaller gathering that was led by the Hip Hop Summit Action Network.

“It was a different vibe than what we have going on here,” said Jennifer Flynn, a spokeswoman for the coalition. “And it’s easier to protest a sitting administration. Although we have issues with both parties, we have a louder megaphone in New York.”

The New York Police Department has promised that there will be no razor-wire enclosures during the Republican convention. But they will use metal barriers that they say ensure the peaceful flow of traffic and pedestrians.

• Staff writer Steve Miller contributed to this story.